Shag - Sale Water Park

I'd heard of a juvenile European Shag being present just 20 minutes down the road, and it was hard to resist the urge to go and have a look, especially as the rain had decided to stay away for a change. I've seen quite a few of these birds, but only once before at an inland location. This particular bird was at a water park and seemed to be enjoying watch the canoeists as the played some form of polo just feet away. At least it was kindly stood on a pontoon just feet from the path. This made for some good close shots. It was probably blown off course during one of the recent storms.

European Shag

Manx Shearwater - Salthouse

I had seen a Manx Shearwater just once before, and it was a very distant scope view way off the coast at Spurn. I was fortunate to watch 3 separate birds fairly close in to the beach at Salthouse near Cley in Norfolk recently. A great sea bird and fun to watch as it skims the surface of the water.

Unusual light here, as it was not long after sunrise.

In flight here with a Sandwich Tern

Juvenile Gannets - Salthouse

Standing on the beach at Salthouse on a windy October day is great for viewing passing sea birds. There were lots of Gannets passing at some distance, but some of the younger birds were trying their luck much closer in. These birds are large, but the plumage is really interesting as a juvenile. They look so dark compared to the adults, and it will take a few years before their plumage turns to that of the white adult birds.

A juvenile Gannet putting on a nice show for me from the shingle beach.

This is my favourite view of the bird. You can see the wing markings nice and clearly.

An adult bird taken at Bempton earlier in the year for comparison.

Cattle Egret

I'd not seen a Cattle Egret over the last two years, and they are always a bird that I have to make a special trip out to see. So when reports of one, and then two, turning up in a cattle field just 15 minutes down the road came through on the local Whatsapp group I had to make the after work dash.

Both were still in the field busy following the herd and picking off flies and insects as they moved. One appeared to have an injury, as it was hopping and flapping each time it moved. Hopefully it is ok and manages to heal itself. Great little birds to watch, and one that completed the set of Great White Egret, Little Egret and Cattle Egret for the year. 

High Tide at Hoylake

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to the Wirral coast to watch the waders moving during the high tide. I ended up at Hoylake where an hour before high tide the sea looked a good mile or more away. It moves quite quickly here and it was fun watching the birds shuffle closer together before taking flight to find a dry bit of sand. The usual suspects were in attendance, with Oystercatchers, Curlew, Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Knot all mingling together. At one point a Peregrine flew through which caused pandemonium. It left empty handed though.

A couple of Bar-tailed Godwits were a welcome addition to the day list, and as I don't go to the coast as often as I should they're a bird that I don't get to see all that often. With them were hundreds of Knot. Again a bird I'd not seen for a year or two, mainly due to me not visiting the areas they like to hang out. All in all though it was a very good few hours and reminded me I need to do this more often.

Bar-tailed Godwir on the left with a supporting cast of Knot.

Knot in flight

Single Knot

And more Knot

Lapwing Lane

It had been a while since I'd got out for a meaningful birdwatch, but I went to one of my favourite local haunts last weekend and had a really good couple of hours. The sun was out and it was a nice mild day. I didn't find anything unusual but there were plenty of the usual woodland suspects on show. 

A Kestrel was hovering over the lakeside vegetation for a good 10 minutes, and made a couple of unsuccessful swoops, but it allowed me to stand and admire the beauty of this majestic bird. Never underestimated by me, it's a really special bird.

Kestrel

The bridal path was packed full of birds and the constant calling of Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch and Treecreepers. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called, but soon took off once it saw me.

Long-tailed Tit

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Watching the New Feeder in the Rain

The weather of late has been pretty poor to say the least. So much so, that I have been doing a lot of my birding recently from the lounge window. Not ideal, and it limits the number of species that I can see. That said, I'm quite lucky to a good variety of the Tit family visit the feeders and trees. Jays have passed through recently and a few Goldcrests. 

I have a new feeder that I can highly recommend from Kingsyard. (Click on the Kingsyard link here on the right) Kingsyard 

This particular feeder is constructed really well, and is very sturdy. It has two different sizes of mesh, which means you can put different size seeds or food in each half. It also has a tray along the bottom that holds all the food like a trough. The water shield on the top unscrews so that you can put your food in. Again, this is a very sturdy acrylic that will keep the food dry in the rain and hopefully it will act as a baffle for the resident squirrels. The birds seem to like it and I'm really pleased with it. It has made the rainy days a little less miserable when I look out to it.

The Coal Tits are really big fans. I've had 3 or 4 on here at a time.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs

RSPB Bempton Cliffs has so many birds to offer, but being able to get up close and personal with these birds in their nesting habitat is one of the key attractions for me. With many ledges built out of the cliff you can see down on to the birds and get very close as they fly by at eye level.

These Guillemots were happy enough being closely packed in, but made a constant din of noise just to ward off their neighbours in case they got too close.

Below you can see a Bridled Guillemot with a white ring around its eye. It looks like it's wearing glasses.

The very good looking Kittiwake

The stiff winged Fulmar soaring on the thermals over the cliffs

Redstart

Whilst I was looking for my Spotted Flycatchers, I was lucky to find quite a few Common Redstarts, and one particular male was very busy collecting food for it's young in the nest. It was a lovely warm morning and the sun was also just in the right place as he landed in front of me on a garden gate. What an absolutely stunning bird this is, and they are only 10 miles away from my doorstep.

Male Redstart

Spotted Flycatcher

A couple of months ago at the end of May, my annual wait for the return of Spotted Flycatchers was over. Just two weeks before on a visit to my usual sites, there were none to be seen, but on this occasion I found 3 pairs and they weren't hanging around. All were busy nest building in various tree cavities and outbuildings. A great sign that these may have some young to feed this year. Unfortunately, when I returned a few weeks later only one site was still active, with both birds busy feeding. There was no sign of the pair that had been building a nest in an open tree cavity. There was not even any moss, so it's quite possible this was predated. Fingers crossed for the one nest that was still going strong, and hopefully some young fletched successfully.